THE QUICK AND THE DEAD: FUTURE-PROOFING SECOPS

SAM CURRY, CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER, CYBEREASON, DISCUSSES HOW CYBER ADVERSARIES ARE EVOLVING THEIR METHODS AND WHAT IT WILL TAKE FOR ENTERPRISES TO FUTURE-PROOF THEIR STRATEGIES.

- SAM CURRY

The quick and the dead is an English phrase from William Tyndale’s translation of the New Testament. The word quick, in English, comes from the old Anglo Saxon for alive, and nothing could be more apt. To be quick is to be alive, and nowhere is this more true than in security where we literally are in a race, albeit an asymmetric one, against an intelligent, adaptive opponent. For this reason, security is about ultimately about rates.

The adversary is innovative, motivated, funded and enjoys the advantages of asymmetry — they only have to be right once to succeed, while the defender has to play a perfect game. Given the focus and investment, the rate of improvement in the proficiency of attackers is increasing faster than, by-and-large, that of the defenders. The first step to being futureproofed is to be present proofed; and the essence of that is to be quick and adaptive and to seek to maximize the incremental improvements and the pace of advancement. In a word, security needs to be more agile with people, with processes, and with technology.